Teresa Gambaro (Brisbane, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

The G20 forum is a unique opportunity in its economic influence. It brings together the leaders of 20 of the largest developed and emerging economies annually to make decisions on global economic challenges, and Australia's hosting of the G20 in 2014 is a major responsibility but also a fantastic opportunity to showcase what we do and how we do it.

I am very proud of the fact that Queensland will be the destination for two of the most significant meetings of the G20 calendar: the Prime Minister, the Hon. Tony Abbott, will host the leaders summit in Brisbane in November, and the Treasurer, the Hon. Joe Hockey, will chair one of the finance ministers and central bank governors meetings in Cairns in September. My colleague the member for Leichhardt will no doubt be speaking on this particular event in great detail. Brisbane being the host city for two of the most important events of the G20 calendar is something we should be proud of. Queensland has a longstanding reputation for staging very secure and successful international events and government meetings, and it is a testament to Queensland's professionalism and demonstrates that there is strong confidence in the capacity of the city to support such large-scale events. With the global spotlight upon us, we will make the most of this opportunity by showcasing the diversity of our Sunshine State as a world-class destination to invest, to do business, to study and to visit.

The G20 is a unique and influential forum. It brings together leaders of the most influential developed and emerging economies to consider and act on global economic challenges. Its membership makes up 85 per cent of the global economy, 75 per cent of trade and two-thirds of the world's population. With more than 3,000 media and 4,000 delegates from across these major economies attending, Queensland will be in the global spotlight of international journalists and key influencers. Brisbane Marketing estimates that the G20 meeting will generate about $100 million in long-term economic benefits for Brisbane through the promotion and exposure the city will receive, and Brisbane Marketing has been charged with maximising the benefit to the city in the medium and long term. This will complement the Lord Mayor's vision of promoting Brisbane as 'Australia's new world city'. The G20 events will put Brisbane and its businesses at the centre of world events, providing important opportunities to build international networks and highlight the best of what the community has to offer.

The G20 will also be a significant funding injection into the economies of Queensland cities and a win for local hotels, venues and the rest of the tourism industry. International tourism contributed $42 billion to Australia's GDP in 2013, and the top five visiting countries were New Zealand, China, the UK, the US and Japan, all of whom will be in attendance at the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane. Together, people from these countries spend nearly $9 billion in Australia.

The G20 will provide opportunities for businesses in my electorate to provide goods and services. All procurement will be undertaken in accordance with the Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and tenders will be advertised through the Australian government AusTender website. I encourage businesses in my electorate to investigate subcontracting opportunities with organisations that hold contracts with the Commonwealth and to register for AusTender to be alerted to current and potential opportunities. In addition, a large number of volunteers will be required to assist with the logistics of hosting the G20 Leaders Summit in Brisbane, and they can go to the G20 website to register their interest.

There will be local impacts in hosting such a large forum, and information regarding the G20 impacts will be communicated through the G20 and the Queensland Police Service websites and social media channels. Information will also be made available through Brisbane City Council arrangements. Several community information forums will be held in Brisbane in the lead-up to the leaders summit in November 2014.

This is an absolutely incredible opportunity for Australia to focus on our priorities, particularly on our G20 economic priority, to ensure that collectively we make a commitment to implement policies that lift our GDP by more than two per cent over the trajectory. I am absolutely delighted that Brisbane will be hosting this incredible event. I have every confidence that it will be a huge success and will shape the G20 agenda for many years to come.

Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Wayne Swan (Lilley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion. It gives me great satisfaction to speak to this motion, because in November the G20 leaders will meet in my home city of Brisbane. The G20 is tasked with the coordination of initiatives to strengthen global economic growth. This G20 meeting brings together developed and developing countries—the largest 20. It effectively replaced the G7 at a meeting in late 2008. Then, for the first time in our history, Australia got a seat at the major global economic coordinating table, a very substantial achievement for our country. Australia played a very important role in securing the G20 as the replacement for the G7, and that is something I think every Australian can be proud of.

This meeting will be the second in Asia and the first in the Southern Hemisphere. There was strong support in both the developed and developing world for a G20 meeting to happen in Australia, and it is true that Australia's contribution to the G20 in recent years has been significant and supported by our peers because Australia is seen as an honest broker. We have been able to work very constructively with the old superpowers as well as the emerging superpowers in the developing world and we have assumed leadership of the G20 because of the quality and relevance of what we bring to the table.

In particular there is an expectation amongst other G20 members that we bring forward an agenda that has rigor and has substance. As we know, Australia has always punched well above its weight in the international community, but we should never take our membership of the G20 for granted. It is true that the G20 is at the crossroads and there are those who would love nothing more than to go back to a G7 or a G13. So this is very, very important for Australia.

It is important that the G20 renews its focus in particular on a growth agenda, and Australia must put forward an agenda which is engaging, contemporary and substantial. That is what all the other fellow G20 members are looking for. In particular, we must have a coordinated, comprehensive growth strategy—one whose central purpose is to support global growth, to support jobs across the developed and developing world. Most importantly, it is not enough just to say that we have a growth target. There has to be faith that that growth target will be backed up by substantial reforms in the developed and developing world which will give meaning to the objective of job creation globally.

In particular, I think it is important that Australia refuses the temptation to inject domestic politics into the agenda. Indeed, that would be deeply embarrassing for Australia. I certainly hope we do not have a repeat of what the Prime Minister said in Davos in January, when he denied the origins of the global financial crisis. That indeed would be very embarrassing and counterproductive for Australia. What that means is that Australia needs to be very broad-minded about the agenda. For example, if other nations want to talk about climate change, then that should be on the agenda.

Also, as a proud Queenslander, I am delighted to see that this meeting will be taking place in Brisbane. There will also be a finance ministers meeting in Cairns. This recognises the growing importance of Brisbane, of Queensland and of Far North Queensland to our national economy. It is a very important achievement for our state and for our regions. I was a very enthusiastic supporter of Brisbane as the venue for the leaders meeting, but Brisbane won the bid on its merits. In particular, it won the bid over Sydney because of the quality of our airport, the quality of the transport links and the quality of our convention centre. So, whilst it is great to have it in my home city, it won that bid because of recognition of how important our city and our state has become not just to our national economy but to the regional economy.

It is a fantastic opportunity for Brisbane, Cairns and the rest of the state to showcase itself to the world. I know that there will be some disruption caused by this, but I think it is worth it because what it will bring to our state, to our tourist industry and to our other industries will be a chance to showcase our lifestyle and what we have achieved. But, most importantly, it will symbolise the movement of economic power from west to east. It will symbolise the importance of Queensland, Australia to our global economy and it will showcase our economy—the best developed economy in the global economy over the last 30 years.

Warren Entsch (Leichhardt, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is certainly a pleasure for me to speak to this private member's motion put up by my good friend the member for Brisbane. It is no doubt that hosting the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Cairns in September, followed by the leaders meeting in Brisbane in November, is a massive coup for Queensland. The Cairns meeting on 20 and 21 September will bring about 2,000 people to our city, including the finance ministers and treasurers of the world's strongest economies, international and domestic media, and staff and representatives of organisations such as the United Nations.

Since the news was announced in August 2012, the Cairns business community and the Cairns Regional Council have jumped on board to ensure that the region is showcased to the best of its ability. At that time, Mayor Bob Manning said the news would 'make locals walk another inch higher off the ground'. Cairns Regional Council and the state government are now well underway in the project to revamp the city centre, and I congratulate them for that.

Visiting Cairns last year, Treasury heads described Cairns as an 'exotic and exciting destination for our guests', and there is no doubt that the economic benefits to and exposure of our region will be significant. We have so many assets—a temperate climate, an incredible natural environment, a cosmopolitan city, a broad array of tourism activities—all combined with warm and hospitable service.

It is hard to put a dollar value on it, but in 2010, the University of Toronto measured the benefits of previous G20 and G8 conferences. They found that the host city received benefits in the short term from tourism, accommodation, plane fares and 'advertising', both written stories and direct advertising. In the longer term, the economic benefit comes from business investment. Interestingly, the authors of the study found that the economic benefits were bigger for the cities with a lower international profile. It said: 'In general, the benefits are much greater for the smaller communities and cities that lack the global visibility and infrastructure that the capital cities of the past several centuries have developed.'    This bodes well for Cairns.

Representatives of the 24 countries involved, including the US, China, Japan, Germany and the UK, will start arriving two weeks beforehand, while the bulk of visitors, including up to 100 media, will arrive two days before. Already, 2,000 rooms have been booked at the five top hotels in Cairns, extending to Palm Cove, for the heads of delegation, delegates, and Queensland Police Service, Comcar and Commonwealth staff, in contracts worth more than $2 million.

According to the G20 website, most local jobs working at the event will be with our local service providers such as venues, catering providers and accommodation. We are fortunate in Cairns that we already have a diverse and highly experienced hospitality and tourism sector on hand. Businesses in the immediate vicinity of the Cairns Convention Centre area will be able to take advantage of having thousands of international visitors in the area. Many others will be involved through G20 service providers, including venues, transport, accommodation and security. Closer to the date, local services such as labour hire, interior design, local performers, AV services and transport and IT services may be needed. I would urge any locals or businesses who are interested in assisting to keep an eye on the Cairns Post, the G20 website, the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, the AusTender website and other online channels.

Australia's mission to use its leadership of the G20 to drive global growth, and the decision at February's meeting of finance ministers to set a specific global growth target, are being well received. At the meeting, the G20 struck a landmark deal to lift global economic activity by US$2 trillion over the next five years, potentially creating tens of millions of jobs across the globe. For Australia's part, Treasurer Joe Hockey stressed that unless we undertake structural reforms and implement the promises we took to last year's election, our economy will fail to develop. Joe said: 'We all know the challenges that lie ahead, but now's the time to go for growth.'

Cairns has had a tough time of it in the past seven years, but I can confirm that we are absolutely geared for growth. I welcome the Prime Minister's initiative to encourage partners and spouses to travel up to Cairns. If they do that they will find great reasons to spend a bit of extra time there and perhaps, sometime down the track, will bring other family members and friends to Cairns. We are certainly on the cusp of a very exciting time and I am looking forward to the G20 being a real kick-start for our Far North economy and for Queensland's economy more broadly.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to support the motion and I commend the member for Brisbane for moving it. I am particularly pleased to do so, because it shows that support for Brisbane and this crucial meeting is bipartisan. We need to show the world that, when it comes to our engagement with the global economy and its decision makers, we do not play politics. It was disappointing to see the Prime Minister breach this convention earlier in the year, but hopefully the blowback from those comments in Davos will act as a disincentive next time he is tempted.

I want to pay tribute to the people who secured this meeting for Brisbane—people like the member for Lilley, who just spoke, working alongside prime ministers Rudd then Gillard. Engagement with the global economy via the G20 is one of the proudest legacies of Labor in government. It is one of the reasons why Australia did so well to stare down the global recession, create a million jobs and achieve three AAA credit ratings for the very first time in Australia's history.

I have some experience with these G20 meetings, having gone to finance minister gatherings in places like Mexico City, Paris and also, less formally, in Washington, DC. I have seen representatives of our government treated with a great deal of respect, regard and interest because of what we managed as a nation when the world was imposing all kinds of challenges on us, challenges that many other nations could not conquer.

It is a very big deal for Brisbane to host such an important gathering of the world's most influential people. Probably not since the Commonwealth Games in 1982 has Brisbane hosted something which attracts this kind of attention. But this is an even bigger event than those games, because every nation on earth has a stake in what representatives of the 20 biggest economies will be discussing in November. It is a tremendous opportunity for the city and all its businesses. I agree with much of what the members for Brisbane, Leichardt and Lilley said in that regard—about Cairns in the case of the member for Leichardt. These meetings give our people and businesses and community groups the opportunity to show what we are made of—that we are capable of putting on a big event like this and that our community has the capacity to rise to the challenge. When we are tested like this, we generally succeed. This time will be no different.

A lot of my confidence comes from knowing that the Australian officials charged with the responsibility of delivering a great meeting in Brisbane are some of the finest public servants in the country. I have worked alongside many of them. I know their professionalism and their commitment is boundless. I wish all of them the very best as they go about this very important task. I can assure the House and the broader community that the process cannot be in better hands than theirs.

Every single Australian has an interest in the success of the meeting, not just the logistics and the organisational side but, more importantly, the outcomes—whether or not it helps build momentum behind important issues. These important issues include trade, cracking down on profit shifting in the tax system, climate change—ideally—and more. The most important issues of all, however, are those around growth and job creation, not just targets but tangible policies and actual progress that endures beyond the discussion and beyond the day-to-day newspaper coverage of the event.

For our part, Labor will seek to play a positive role in the debate leading up to November, always with an eye to the Australian national interest. Ideally, people will look back on the Brisbane meeting as the time and the place the G20 re-established itself as the most action oriented of the world's economic institutions and transitioned into something more than a tremendous crisis manager during the GFC, which it sure was, into a body that can be a real force for good in more normal times.

The global economy is not in the awful nick that it was a couple of years ago, but it still is an uncertain place. There are good signs and bad signs. There are reasons to be confident and reasons to be cautious. We need to see the G20 as an important way to seek agreement in the global economy about key domestic and international policies—so that those policies are part of the solution to our global and domestic challenges and not part of the problem. This is the responsibility of those meeting in one of the two best cities on earth—Brisbane—the other of course being Logan City to its immediate south. Ipswich is also a good city.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hear, hear!

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the motion and I happily support it.

Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

You may wonder why I am speaking to this wonderful motion about the G20 meeting put by the member for Brisbane. My electorate of Page is but a beautiful two- to three-hour drive south of Brisbane. I have been working with my local businesses, with my local chambers of commerce and with the tourism bodies in my electorate to ensure we gain some leverage out of this wonderful conference that has been organised. As the member for Brisbane said, this is not only a major responsibility; it is a major opportunity. I will run through some figures that have already been quoted. At this conference, we will have 85 per cent of the global economy represented and 75 per cent of the world's population. There will be 2,000 people from the media there and 4,000 delegates—and spouses as well. So there is great opportunity for us. Obviously, and as we would be well aware, these are not just ordinary people, in the sense that they are global decision makers; they are great people to impress and great people to sell our areas and our communities to.

As the member for Brisbane put so articulately, there is going to be a tender process for procurements for this as well. That is a great opportunity, and I will certainly be working with my local chambers and business networks so that they, too, will tender for parts of this.

An honourable member: In Kyogle, I think?

Absolutely! The important part of this is not only, as I just said, that these people will be here but that they are people of great decision-making abilities. Again, there are huge opportunities and we know the partners as well.

Can I just talk about the conference itself? We have a great opportunity. As the previous member just said, our global economy has great challenges right now but also great opportunities. I know that this government will take a leading role in being the host of this conference to articulate a message to the world of the important position we are in. I have always been very intrigued when I look at history to see why countries become leaders at any point. If you go back and look at any example, whether that be Portugal, Spain, Britain or Greece, when any country was a leader in the world they had a relatively open economy. They were countries or economies that were very much into trading and they were very open to other people around the planet.

We can look right now at economies in our world that are doing well or not so well. This is an exaggerated example, but unfortunately a very true one: North Korea. It is a very closed economy in many senses of the word—not just in trading but in lots of other ways as well. We can see that the people of that country are not in a good way. I always see Hong Kong as a good comparison. It was quite separate from China before they got together again late in the last century. Hong Kong always had an open economy and quite a prosperous economy and people, where economies next door did not if they were closed.

This is not only a good opportunity for us, and a great opportunity for the people of Brisbane and other parts of Queensland, but seriously very much an opportunity for people, businesses and tourism bodies in my electorate to leverage off this to sell the great country that we are, the great culture that we have and the great produce that we have. I know that the Treasurer and the Prime Minister will also be articulating a case and an economic thing at this conference that the world needs to get its policy settings right. As a previous member said, this is not just domestically but also as a global economy. We speak for the wellbeing of 20-odd million Australians in this chamber; the people at this conference will be speaking for three-quarters of the world's population. We need to make sure that we get the policy settings right at this; that we remain open economies and that we remain economies that are in open dialogue with each other, trade with each other and share many cultural and other things with each other so that we continue to grow economically for the benefit of all our constituents. Thank you.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In September 2013 the G20 leaders in St Petersburg committed themselves to comprehensive growth strategies for the Brisbane summit in 2014. They said that would be encapsulated in what is known as the 'Brisbane action plan'. I am looking forward to people coming to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, later this year, and also to the finance ministers coming to Cairns, a place I am very familiar with.

I would urge those delegates to come to come to the place just down the road along the Ipswich Motorway—the beautiful and historic city of Ipswich, which could and should have been the capital of Queensland. I am pleased that the government is committed to Brisbane. Brisbane is a wonderful place, a wonderful city, but not as historic or old—and certainly not as beautiful—as the wonderful city of Ipswich, from which I hail.

Individual countries will be represented with their own agendas, but the Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, believes that Australia must not squander its leadership of the G20 presidency by taking a cluttered approach to the agenda. I do not agree with him. I agree with the member for Lilley, who talked about a broadmindedness in terms of the agenda. It is one aspect of that agenda that I want to talk about—something that I want to see on the agenda for the G20 meeting in Brisbane this year. That something is to take up what UK Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron did last year, in November and December, when he put the issue of dementia on the G8 agenda for discussion by the leading economies of the world.

Alzheimer's Australia is leading a push—a petition—for Prime Minister Tony Abbott to place dementia prominently on the G20 agenda. I agree with them. Dementia has a global economic impact. If dementia were a country it would have the 18th biggest economy in the world. Its cost to the world economy is $600 billion—about one per cent of global GDP. What we need from global leaders at the G20 is a commitment to invest in dementia research, promote reduction strategies and identify treatments and a commitment that they will undertake important future healthcare and that they will look at the social impact and cost across this region.

Our country is about to be hit by a dementia tsunami. There are about 300,000 Australians with dementia, but we will have about one million by 2050. Dementia is not a normal part of ageing. It is a disease which affects more and more Australians. It has been estimated that three people out of every four of the 36 million people worldwide who are suffering from dementia have not been formally diagnosed as suffering from dementia and therefore are not getting the care and treatment they deserve and need. This treatment gap is most significant in developing countries, particularly in those economies which are often described as low- and middle-income countries. We have many of those in our region, so this is a particularly important issue. I would like to see countries such as China, India and Brazil, in particular, make commitments at G20, because these are important countries for this century's economic development. They will have a greater impact than in the 20th century. It is important that we get countries like those I mentioned involved in dementia awareness, care and research commitment around the world. More funds are needed for the diagnosis, treatment and care of dementia patients.

Alzheimer's Australia has a goal to get 20,000 signatures for its petition. I urge those listening to get behind Alzheimer's Australia. When we were in government we made a large commitment for dementia research and funding. It is estimated that by 2016 dementia will be the leading cause of disability in this country. It is impossible to hide dementia behind closed doors. It is impossible to stem the raging tide of dementia centre by closing the curtains and pretending all is well. I urge the leaders of the G20 to do what David Cameron has done. I urge them to have a look at the G8 Dementia Summit Declaration that was made in London on 11 December 2013, which showed a way forward for an effective international response to dementia. I urge them to take dementia seriously when they are in Brisbane.

Debate interrupted.